Zoo officials say an investigation is underway at Service Systems Associates — a third-party vendor which operates retail shops at nine zoos across the U.S.— after malware was detected in its point-of-sale software.
I was wondering when a zoo would be involved in some kind of data breach, and if so what kind. I figured that it was a matter of time and that this kind of breach was most likely. At least its only credit/debit card information and not something really serious like Social Security numbers of zoo employees. It seems to be happening to most everyone; that's why I conduct as much as possible on the ground as opposed to online as I can.
What would really make me nervous would be if someone tried to hack into the zoo's records of its animal care in order to blackmail them or fabricate false accusations against them. Also, I'll bet that zoo exhibits will become more computerized in the future (everything seems to be nowadays, though for the most part I am skeptical of "smart" products) with at least a limited ability to remotely control things like temperature or humidity in the exhibits; what if someone were to hack into them and alter the conditions of the exhibit? Its possible to hack some iv pumps now and make them not only give the wrong dose of medicine but also make it look as if the right dose is being given; I could see something similar happening with some kind of computerized zoo exhibit.
